Cincinnati hospital's live-tweets reveal complications in surgery

Surgeons encountered unexpected complications on Friday during an operation to help a 12-year-old girl with a rare medical condition, and a live-tweet by the social media staff at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center gave the first indication. "Alexis Shapiro's liver is larger than surgical team anticipated, making necessary visualization difficult," read the message posted at 10:43 a.m. under the Twitter handle @CincyChildrens. The surgeons decided not to proceed with the operation that had been planned, @CincyChildrens reported three minutes later. It was the first time anyone on the hospital's staff had live-tweeted during an operation, said Kate Setter, senior associate for social media at Children's Hospital.